Apr 5, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard (39) against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Dwight Howard Breaks Silence on Resolving Issues With Shaquille O’Neal

Originally posted on Fastbreak on SI | By Justin Grasso | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 6:08 PM ET

With a major voice in the NBA media space, former center Shaquille O’Neal has made a lot of enemies with his thoughts and opinions. For years, O’Neal was critical of the future Hall of Famer Dwight Howard, which created a lot of tension between the two bigs.

It wasn’t until recently O’Neal and Howard decided to leave their issues in the past.

Despite the issues that took place over time, Howard still wanted the legendary center to be a part of his eventual Hall of Fame induction. According to reports, O’Neal agreed to do it, signaling the end of the feud.

Dwight Howard Speaks on the “Realness” With Shaq…

At the end of the day, sports are entertainment. It’s competitive and brings out a different side of players, but it’s supposed to be all in good fun in the end.

O’Neal and Howard are some of the biggest personalities to come out of the NBA, which led some to believe that their issues were kayfabe. According to Howard, that is far from the truth.

“I don’t think none of it was for cameras. I’m not in the business of trying to do anything for show,” Howard told ScoopB.com.

“The beef? I mean, I guess it was real as far as him disliking what I was doing and me disliking him hating on me or whatever you want to call it.”

O’Neal is no stranger to making enemies with the centers who played after him. Being one of the most prominent players of his generation and recognized as one of the greatest players at the center position, O’Neal has sky-high expectations for those who step foot on the court. Something about Howard rubbed him the wrong way.

But at the end of the day, it’s water under the bridge.

“You gotta let bygones be bygones,” Howard added.

“My time in the NBA is over with, you know? We got the same jacket. We’re in the Hall of Fame so, we just have to respect each other, you know? Shaq came before me and a lot of the bigs, so we always pay homage to the ones that came before us and would never disrespect him and what he meant to the game and what he’s done for the game. Away from basketball off the court, you know, man-to-man is different from on the court, and all in all, I respect him, and I’m glad we had an opportunity to talk.”

Shaq wrapped up his career after playing from 1992 to 2011. He left the NBA with four championships, 15 All-Star nods, and an MVP award.

As for Howard, he retired with one NBA Championship, eight All-Star nods, eight All-NBA nods, and three Defensive Player of the Year awards.